Heavy set body. Broad, short snout. Eyes proportionately small. First dorsal large and pointed. Upper body uniformly grey fading to paler grey on the belly. Tips of all fins and trailing edge of caudal fin are sometimes dusky. No interdorsal ridge.

SIZE;

Maximum length 340cm. Size at birth 56-81cm

HABITAT;

Turbid inshore waters, lagoons, estuaries, freshwater rivers and lakes, coastlines, and reef environments down to 150m. The Bull shark is famous for its habit of swimming upstream hundreds of miles in some river systems such as the Mississippi, Amazon, Zambezi, and Lake Nicaragua

DISTRIBUTION;

Circumtropical and subtropical

BEHAVIOR;

Diet consists of many food types including bony fishes, turtles, seals, crabs, and squid. Adult Bull sharks are especially keen on other elasmobranchs. Hunting may take place in both salt and fresh water habitats

Although Bull sharks have been implicated in many attacks on bathers, divers are normally not harassed unless they are spear fishing. A leading researcher Dr Erich Ritter was bitten 'on camera' during a shark feed at Shark Beach in the Bahamas. The incident resulted in the lengthy documentary - Anatomy of a Shark Bite. Bull sharks are an aggressive species and must be respected by divers when swimming amoung these animals

DIVE OPERATOR;

This article was written about the authors encounters with Bull sharks while diving shark reef at Bega Lagoon in Fiji

It is also possible to see tiger sharks, silvertips, grey reef, sicklefin lemon, tawny nurse, whitetip reef sharks, and pacific blacktip sharks while on this dive.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Shark Diving is an extreme sport. It carries a considerable risk of personal injury or death. Do not participate in these activities unless you are an expert, have sought or obtained qualified professional instruction or guidance, are knowledgeable about the risks involved and are willing to assume personal responsibility for all the risks involved with this sport.

When planning any shark trip make sure to do your homework. There is NEVER any guarantees you will see any sharks at these dive sites. Luck and time of year are the most important factors for any shark trip.